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Modern Orthodox Thinkers: From the Philokalia to the Present Day
Andrew Louth, one of the most respected authorities on Orthodoxy, introduces us to twenty key thinkers from the last two centuries. He begins with the Philokalia, the influential Orthodox collection published in 1782 which marked so many subsequent writers.
The colorful characters, poets and thinkers who populate this book range from Romania, Serbia, Greece, England, France and also include exiles from Communist Russia. Louth offers historical and biographical sketches that help us understand the thought and impact of these men and women. Only some of them belong to the ranks of professional theologians. Many were neither priests nor bishops, but influential laymen. The book concludes with an illuminating chapter on Metropolitan Kallistos and the theological vision of the Philokalia.
The colorful characters, poets and thinkers who populate this book range from Romania, Serbia, Greece, England, France and also include exiles from Communist Russia. Louth offers historical and biographical sketches that help us understand the thought and impact of these men and women. Only some of them belong to the ranks of professional theologians. Many were neither priests nor bishops, but influential laymen. The book concludes with an illuminating chapter on Metropolitan Kallistos and the theological vision of the Philokalia.
416 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2015
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Andrew Louth
59 books48 followersAndrew Louth is an Eastern Orthodox theologian and priest of the Russian Orthodox Church.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 4, 2017
Summary: Biographical sketches and theological summaries of some of the leading thinkers in the modern Orthodox Church from Russia to Paris to Mount Athos to England and the US, and the significant role the Philokalia has played in Orthodox thought and piety.
Very simply, this is a "Who's Who" among Orthodox thinkers. In twenty-one chapters, Andrew Louth, professor emeritus of patristic and Byzantine studies and an Orthodox priest, gives us sketches of the lives and theological contributions of twenty-eight significant thinkers within the Orthodox Church.
There are several things that keep this from simply being a disconnected collection of biographies. Foremost, perhaps is Louth's appraisal of the significance of the Philokalia, a collection of texts published in Greek in 1782, translated first into "church Slavonic" in 1793, later into Russian in 1877, and more recently into English. The Philokalia represent teachings of a number of the early Church Fathers concerning contemplative prayer that provides the groundwork for the "hesychast" (quietness) movement. Louth states:
"It is my contention that the publication of the Philokalia in 1782 can be seen as marking a turning point in Orthodox theology, a move away from the defensiveness of early modern Orthodox theology – the theology of the so-called ‘Symbolic Books’ – to a more confident style of theology, based on the authentic sources of Orthodox theology, namely the Fathers of the Church. This movement of renewal had deep roots and led the Orthodox Churches out of the problems that dogged them at the end of the eighteenth century. It is difficult not to see St Nikodimos as preparing the Greek Church under the Ottoman Empire for the independence it was to achieve in the course of the nineteenth century, providing it with what was needed for its spiritual, liturgical and canonical or structural well-being. The path before it was to be long and hard, and there is still much to be done, as we shall see."
This book begins with the publication of the Philokalia and a discussion of its significance and concludes with a chapter on Metropolitan Kallistos (Timothy Ware), one of the major translators of the Philokalia into English, and one of the most significant translators of Orthodoxy for Westerners.
The organization of the book is roughly chronological, but also follows a course through several countries as well as topics. Louth begins in Russia with poet and thinker Vladimir Solov'ev. Then he follows two generations of emigrés to Paris following the Revolution, the first including Florensky, Bulgakov, Berdayaev, Florovsky, Myrrha Lot-Borodine and Maria Skobtsova. The second generation included Paul Evdokimov, John Meyendorff, and Alexander Schmemann, the latter two key in the development of modern Orthodoxy in America when they left Paris to take positions at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary. The trail goes on to Romania, Serbia, Greece and England.
Along the way Louth also explores thinkers significant in Orthodox dogmatic theology (Staniloe and Popovic') Neo-Palamism (Meyendorff), liturgical theology (Schmemann, Foundoulis, and Vasileios), patristics (Zizioulas and Romanides), the rich tradition of lay theologians (Sherrard, Koutroubis, Yannaras, Ramfos, Behr-Sigel, and Clèment) and the spiritual elders.
One of the things that is striking is the number of women included in the narrative and the other is the number of lay figures who play a major role in Orthodox thought, particularly Philip Sherrard, who in partnership with Metropolitan Kallistos helped translate the Philokalia into English. In many ways, the Revolution, far from destroying Orthodoxy, created a diaspora that resulted both in the missionary spread of Orthodoxy and the theological flourishing of Orthodox thought.
One thing that might have been helpful would have been a glossary of Orthodox terms. Non-Orthodox readers may find themselves at a loss confronting terms like "hesychia" or "Archimandrite" or "Palamite." Louth does include a helpful bibliography following the chapters of the book including books both by and about the different thinkers. This, and his chapters on each thinker, provides a doorway to further exploring the makers of modern Orthodoxy.
This review summary makes this sound like just so many names, but what Louth does is bring these people to life, with photographs, biographies, and a focus on their distinctive theological contributions, often given to us in their own words. The Orthodox would contend that it is really the rest of us who have split off from them and that they represent a Christianity connected to both conciliar and patristic Christianity. The book acquaints us with how these modern Orthodox thinkers have appropriated these sources, including the collection of writings that make up the Philokalia, to address the spiritual concerns of modern men and women. In recent years, both Protestants and Catholics have been rediscovering these sources as well. Might the Orthodox have something to teach us of the love of God and neighbor, of how God might be encountered afresh in liturgy, in silence, and in life? Louth's book might help us discover some of those to whom we may listen.
Very simply, this is a "Who's Who" among Orthodox thinkers. In twenty-one chapters, Andrew Louth, professor emeritus of patristic and Byzantine studies and an Orthodox priest, gives us sketches of the lives and theological contributions of twenty-eight significant thinkers within the Orthodox Church.
There are several things that keep this from simply being a disconnected collection of biographies. Foremost, perhaps is Louth's appraisal of the significance of the Philokalia, a collection of texts published in Greek in 1782, translated first into "church Slavonic" in 1793, later into Russian in 1877, and more recently into English. The Philokalia represent teachings of a number of the early Church Fathers concerning contemplative prayer that provides the groundwork for the "hesychast" (quietness) movement. Louth states:
"It is my contention that the publication of the Philokalia in 1782 can be seen as marking a turning point in Orthodox theology, a move away from the defensiveness of early modern Orthodox theology – the theology of the so-called ‘Symbolic Books’ – to a more confident style of theology, based on the authentic sources of Orthodox theology, namely the Fathers of the Church. This movement of renewal had deep roots and led the Orthodox Churches out of the problems that dogged them at the end of the eighteenth century. It is difficult not to see St Nikodimos as preparing the Greek Church under the Ottoman Empire for the independence it was to achieve in the course of the nineteenth century, providing it with what was needed for its spiritual, liturgical and canonical or structural well-being. The path before it was to be long and hard, and there is still much to be done, as we shall see."
This book begins with the publication of the Philokalia and a discussion of its significance and concludes with a chapter on Metropolitan Kallistos (Timothy Ware), one of the major translators of the Philokalia into English, and one of the most significant translators of Orthodoxy for Westerners.
The organization of the book is roughly chronological, but also follows a course through several countries as well as topics. Louth begins in Russia with poet and thinker Vladimir Solov'ev. Then he follows two generations of emigrés to Paris following the Revolution, the first including Florensky, Bulgakov, Berdayaev, Florovsky, Myrrha Lot-Borodine and Maria Skobtsova. The second generation included Paul Evdokimov, John Meyendorff, and Alexander Schmemann, the latter two key in the development of modern Orthodoxy in America when they left Paris to take positions at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary. The trail goes on to Romania, Serbia, Greece and England.
Along the way Louth also explores thinkers significant in Orthodox dogmatic theology (Staniloe and Popovic') Neo-Palamism (Meyendorff), liturgical theology (Schmemann, Foundoulis, and Vasileios), patristics (Zizioulas and Romanides), the rich tradition of lay theologians (Sherrard, Koutroubis, Yannaras, Ramfos, Behr-Sigel, and Clèment) and the spiritual elders.
One of the things that is striking is the number of women included in the narrative and the other is the number of lay figures who play a major role in Orthodox thought, particularly Philip Sherrard, who in partnership with Metropolitan Kallistos helped translate the Philokalia into English. In many ways, the Revolution, far from destroying Orthodoxy, created a diaspora that resulted both in the missionary spread of Orthodoxy and the theological flourishing of Orthodox thought.
One thing that might have been helpful would have been a glossary of Orthodox terms. Non-Orthodox readers may find themselves at a loss confronting terms like "hesychia" or "Archimandrite" or "Palamite." Louth does include a helpful bibliography following the chapters of the book including books both by and about the different thinkers. This, and his chapters on each thinker, provides a doorway to further exploring the makers of modern Orthodoxy.
This review summary makes this sound like just so many names, but what Louth does is bring these people to life, with photographs, biographies, and a focus on their distinctive theological contributions, often given to us in their own words. The Orthodox would contend that it is really the rest of us who have split off from them and that they represent a Christianity connected to both conciliar and patristic Christianity. The book acquaints us with how these modern Orthodox thinkers have appropriated these sources, including the collection of writings that make up the Philokalia, to address the spiritual concerns of modern men and women. In recent years, both Protestants and Catholics have been rediscovering these sources as well. Might the Orthodox have something to teach us of the love of God and neighbor, of how God might be encountered afresh in liturgy, in silence, and in life? Louth's book might help us discover some of those to whom we may listen.
December 26, 2015
For one who hardly knows the difference between an archimandrite and an apolytikion, or a hatjis and a heretismoi, it’s a bit of a stretch to pick up and stay with the 416 page paperback “Modern Orthodox Thinkers: From the Philokalia to the Present”. Yet Andrew Louth, who serves as a priest in the Russian Orthodox parish in Durham and is professor emeritus of patristic and Byzantine studies at Durham University, England, as well as a visiting professor of Eastern Orthodox theology at the Amsterdam Centre of Eastern Orthodox Theology in the Faculty of Theology, the Free University, Amsterdam, has made what at first appears insurmountable into something obtainable. This scholarly tome leads an interested reader through the development of a particular stream of Eastern Orthodox thought that winds its way from Mount Athos, to Russia, on to Paris, over into Greece, across to America and to finally settle in England. For the non-Orthodox, it is an unfamiliar world with its own language and choreography, but it’s an intriguing world.
The premise of “Modern Orthodox Thinkers” is stated squarely in the subtitle, “From the Philokalia to the Present”. The Philokalia was compiled in the eighteenth century by two Orthodox monks, St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarias of Corinth, on Mount Athos as an instructive guide for other monks. The work collected texts written by earlier Christian pastors, monks, theologians and spiritual guides as part of a renewal movement within the Orthodox Church that sought to restore the tradition of Byzantine monasticism, return to the Fathers, reestablish the importance of a monasticism that focused on prayer, especially the Jesus Prayer, and restore the role of spiritual fatherhood (9). Though the multi-volume work of the Philokalia was meant for monastic renewal, once it was published and began to be read by a larger Orthodox audience, it became part of a watershed moment in the history of Orthodox theology (10). “The Philokalic movement provided a powerful resource for such return to Orthodox principles, as it had at its heart a programme for a renewed personal spirituality, based on the Jesus Prayer, and an emphasis on the importance of…spiritual eldership that, at its best, made sure that the spiritual revival remained sound and healthy” (11).
The author weaves and walks his way through numerous Orthodox examples, most of whom were not theologically trained, and many who were not ordained clergy. Louth largely focuses “on the presence of Orthodoxy in the West, and especially the influence of the Russians who found themselves in Paris after their expulsion from Russia in 1922” (282). He follows the trail which “blossomed in the Russian Religious Renaissance” and found its way into Greece and beyond, because he sees this renewal, that was marked out by the publication of the Philokalia, as representing “all that is best in Orthodox theology over the last two centuries” (333).
“Modern Orthodox Thinkers” snakes its way through the life stories of a crowd of people. The Author begins with Solov’ev and ends with Metropolitan Kallistos, bringing along a troop of others such as Florensky, Bulgakov, Berdyaev, Florovsky, Mother Maria, Staniloae, Popovic, Evdokimov, Meyendorff, Schmemann, Vasileios, Zizioulas, Romanides, Sherrard, Koutroubis, Yannaras, Ramfos, Behr-Sigel, Clement, Mother Thekla, Silouan, Sophrony, and Men’. Each chapter gives just enough biographical data to help the reader feel informed about the particular person being discussed, and then the sample aspects of how the Philokalia worked into and out of that persons experience are graciously opened up and worked through. It appears to me that the author is fair in his approach and judicious in his analysis. Some of the subjects that are covered with quite a bit of regularity are Sophiology, apophatic theology over and above the kataphatic, starets and the starchestvo, the Jesus Prayer, Gregory Palamis, palamism and neo-palamism, and monasticism. But always the distinctive thread sown into the fabric of this book is the Philokalia and that “theology is not concerned with concepts, though it makes use of them, but concerned with engagement with God” (138).
Louth is skillful in translating concepts and ideas that may be foreign to the non-Orthodox reader, while keeping the flow of the book from stalling. Not only was “Modern Orthodox Thinkers” helpful to me in pointing out some of the unique ways Orthodoxy views the Christian faith, but it also pulled together the historical developments of the Orthodox Church in America and gave me a richer understanding of several of the Orthodox writers I have read in the past. I’m certain that many Orthodox readers will find the book a worthwhile read, and for American Protestants, this book may well give you better insight as to why Orthodoxy is finding a foothold in North America. Though I personally and confessionally don’t agree with all of the theological conclusions of the book, nevertheless I highly recommend it.
Thanks to IVP Academic for the free copy of “Modern Orthodox Thinkers” used for this review.
The premise of “Modern Orthodox Thinkers” is stated squarely in the subtitle, “From the Philokalia to the Present”. The Philokalia was compiled in the eighteenth century by two Orthodox monks, St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarias of Corinth, on Mount Athos as an instructive guide for other monks. The work collected texts written by earlier Christian pastors, monks, theologians and spiritual guides as part of a renewal movement within the Orthodox Church that sought to restore the tradition of Byzantine monasticism, return to the Fathers, reestablish the importance of a monasticism that focused on prayer, especially the Jesus Prayer, and restore the role of spiritual fatherhood (9). Though the multi-volume work of the Philokalia was meant for monastic renewal, once it was published and began to be read by a larger Orthodox audience, it became part of a watershed moment in the history of Orthodox theology (10). “The Philokalic movement provided a powerful resource for such return to Orthodox principles, as it had at its heart a programme for a renewed personal spirituality, based on the Jesus Prayer, and an emphasis on the importance of…spiritual eldership that, at its best, made sure that the spiritual revival remained sound and healthy” (11).
The author weaves and walks his way through numerous Orthodox examples, most of whom were not theologically trained, and many who were not ordained clergy. Louth largely focuses “on the presence of Orthodoxy in the West, and especially the influence of the Russians who found themselves in Paris after their expulsion from Russia in 1922” (282). He follows the trail which “blossomed in the Russian Religious Renaissance” and found its way into Greece and beyond, because he sees this renewal, that was marked out by the publication of the Philokalia, as representing “all that is best in Orthodox theology over the last two centuries” (333).
“Modern Orthodox Thinkers” snakes its way through the life stories of a crowd of people. The Author begins with Solov’ev and ends with Metropolitan Kallistos, bringing along a troop of others such as Florensky, Bulgakov, Berdyaev, Florovsky, Mother Maria, Staniloae, Popovic, Evdokimov, Meyendorff, Schmemann, Vasileios, Zizioulas, Romanides, Sherrard, Koutroubis, Yannaras, Ramfos, Behr-Sigel, Clement, Mother Thekla, Silouan, Sophrony, and Men’. Each chapter gives just enough biographical data to help the reader feel informed about the particular person being discussed, and then the sample aspects of how the Philokalia worked into and out of that persons experience are graciously opened up and worked through. It appears to me that the author is fair in his approach and judicious in his analysis. Some of the subjects that are covered with quite a bit of regularity are Sophiology, apophatic theology over and above the kataphatic, starets and the starchestvo, the Jesus Prayer, Gregory Palamis, palamism and neo-palamism, and monasticism. But always the distinctive thread sown into the fabric of this book is the Philokalia and that “theology is not concerned with concepts, though it makes use of them, but concerned with engagement with God” (138).
Louth is skillful in translating concepts and ideas that may be foreign to the non-Orthodox reader, while keeping the flow of the book from stalling. Not only was “Modern Orthodox Thinkers” helpful to me in pointing out some of the unique ways Orthodoxy views the Christian faith, but it also pulled together the historical developments of the Orthodox Church in America and gave me a richer understanding of several of the Orthodox writers I have read in the past. I’m certain that many Orthodox readers will find the book a worthwhile read, and for American Protestants, this book may well give you better insight as to why Orthodoxy is finding a foothold in North America. Though I personally and confessionally don’t agree with all of the theological conclusions of the book, nevertheless I highly recommend it.
Thanks to IVP Academic for the free copy of “Modern Orthodox Thinkers” used for this review.
January 1, 2019
here are all the blog posts I wrote on this book: https://myrtleskete.com/?s=Modern+Ort...
July 26, 2023
I really wanted to like this book, and it certainly introduced me to some new names in modern Orthodoxy. It provides a lot of good literary and historical context for modern currents in Orthodox thought. But Louth spends too much time on biographical details, not enough time on ideas. Nearly half of each chapter is dedicated to the biographies of his subjects, which leaves little time for in-depth exploration of their thoughts and contributions to Christian theology.
I also feel like the book contains too much padding. There's a lot of repetition from chapter to chapter. Louth's account of the ideas feels underdeveloped, but the ideas that *do* get developed are overexplained.
Finally, I was a little irritated by how much of the book amounts to "insider baseball": I feel like you had to know a lot about Orthodox theology before reading this book. It's clear Louth has spent a lot of time in intellectual Orthodox circles, but his engagement with contemporary Orthodox thought sometimes feels a little like...name-dropping. He seems overimpressed by many of these thinkers and their influence, and not sufficiently critical of their thought (I don't mean "skeptical," just critical).
Don't get me wrong: I'm 100% okay doing a bit of homework before reading a book like this. I am happy to fill the gaps in a difficult, scholarly book with just a little Googling. But, given that the chapters feel a little lean on ideas, such Googling didn't seem worth the time.
I feel like I need to be a seminarian in order to appreciate this book, but I also feel like, if I *was* a seminarian, I'd be a little bored by its lack of depth.
I suppose you could argue that Orthodoxy isn't really about "big ideas," that "Orthodox thought" has *always* been more about life than the intellect, and that the amazing lives these people led *are* essential to their status as champions of modern Orthodoxy. Fair enough. But for a book entitled "Modern Orthodox Thinkers," I would have liked more intellectual rigor.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the names and basic ideas behind modern Orthodoxy. But be prepared to feed both a little lost and a little unsatisfied.
I also feel like the book contains too much padding. There's a lot of repetition from chapter to chapter. Louth's account of the ideas feels underdeveloped, but the ideas that *do* get developed are overexplained.
Finally, I was a little irritated by how much of the book amounts to "insider baseball": I feel like you had to know a lot about Orthodox theology before reading this book. It's clear Louth has spent a lot of time in intellectual Orthodox circles, but his engagement with contemporary Orthodox thought sometimes feels a little like...name-dropping. He seems overimpressed by many of these thinkers and their influence, and not sufficiently critical of their thought (I don't mean "skeptical," just critical).
Don't get me wrong: I'm 100% okay doing a bit of homework before reading a book like this. I am happy to fill the gaps in a difficult, scholarly book with just a little Googling. But, given that the chapters feel a little lean on ideas, such Googling didn't seem worth the time.
I feel like I need to be a seminarian in order to appreciate this book, but I also feel like, if I *was* a seminarian, I'd be a little bored by its lack of depth.
I suppose you could argue that Orthodoxy isn't really about "big ideas," that "Orthodox thought" has *always* been more about life than the intellect, and that the amazing lives these people led *are* essential to their status as champions of modern Orthodoxy. Fair enough. But for a book entitled "Modern Orthodox Thinkers," I would have liked more intellectual rigor.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the names and basic ideas behind modern Orthodoxy. But be prepared to feed both a little lost and a little unsatisfied.
January 15, 2018
A fairly specialized book, but one that leads the reader both through a summary of modern Orthodox theology, but allows one to contrast the writing with Western writers as well.
I continue to poke at it and reread sections as I want a deeper understanding of such issues as prayer, community, and personal salvation.
It is a useful book I recommend to anyone with an interest in issues of faith and how to sort them.
I continue to poke at it and reread sections as I want a deeper understanding of such issues as prayer, community, and personal salvation.
It is a useful book I recommend to anyone with an interest in issues of faith and how to sort them.
April 17, 2020
This is a truly excellent work. It is eminently readable and its insights our profound. There is a significant and detectable bias towards Russian thought as opposed to Greek and a tendency to place the monastic above any other form of reflection. These problems aside this is a supreme work and I highly commend it.
October 23, 2019
What a fantastic book, and an implicit argument against the trad ox fetish of the past as the Orthodox churches' main gift to the world. Lets take as one, premier, example, Fr Louth’s chapter on polymath Fr Pavel Florensky. It is splendid!
Basically, he compares and contrasts Florensky with Kant and the former’s understanding of the role of reason with much of the post-renaissance west. He begins by looking at antinomies, or contradictions, and how Kant tried to solve the problem of said antinomies’ existence for reason as the definitive mode of knowing versus how Florensky approached the problem.
Florensky encourages an ‘ascesis of knowing’ whereby we move outside our egotistical attempts to ‘know’ the world possessively; with Louth showing how such attempts fail to see the world as it really is, in all it’s joyful movement and many-sides. Using the metaphor of taking a photo, etc to bring the point home.
Objectivists don’t come out looking too well either and it helps me appreciate more why I found Hicks’ Explaining Postmodernism so tedious and untenable when I read it recently and why I find Sam Harris, Pinker etc not much better than their 'fundamentalist' adversaries. They're really two sides of the same coin and mutually reinforce one another.
The crude ‘objectivist’ types of ‘truth’ and many postmodernist brands of ‘truth’ each suffer from a profound lack of, what Fr Lonergan called insight, or appreciation of the real meaning of real-ity- which is personal, multi-layered and something of a cup running over; as The Lord says.
Reality is more like TF Torrance or Michael Polanyi describe it. Fr Andrew also touches on Florensky’s insights on Icons and their ability to bring heaven and earth together equally.
Basically, he compares and contrasts Florensky with Kant and the former’s understanding of the role of reason with much of the post-renaissance west. He begins by looking at antinomies, or contradictions, and how Kant tried to solve the problem of said antinomies’ existence for reason as the definitive mode of knowing versus how Florensky approached the problem.
Florensky encourages an ‘ascesis of knowing’ whereby we move outside our egotistical attempts to ‘know’ the world possessively; with Louth showing how such attempts fail to see the world as it really is, in all it’s joyful movement and many-sides. Using the metaphor of taking a photo, etc to bring the point home.
Objectivists don’t come out looking too well either and it helps me appreciate more why I found Hicks’ Explaining Postmodernism so tedious and untenable when I read it recently and why I find Sam Harris, Pinker etc not much better than their 'fundamentalist' adversaries. They're really two sides of the same coin and mutually reinforce one another.
The crude ‘objectivist’ types of ‘truth’ and many postmodernist brands of ‘truth’ each suffer from a profound lack of, what Fr Lonergan called insight, or appreciation of the real meaning of real-ity- which is personal, multi-layered and something of a cup running over; as The Lord says.
Reality is more like TF Torrance or Michael Polanyi describe it. Fr Andrew also touches on Florensky’s insights on Icons and their ability to bring heaven and earth together equally.
April 20, 2017
read for orientation in a foreign terrain. a smorgasbord
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews